Cornell Assemblies

Overview of Assemblies

The campus assemblies are university organizations chartered by the President of the university. They are established to serve as vehicles of communication between the administration of the university and broader campus community affected by the institutions practices and policies. At Cornell, there are five assemblies: constituent assemblies that represent the four major campus constituencies — undergraduate students, graduate & professional students, faculty, and staff — and a University Assembly in which all constituencies are represented.

The University Assembly deals with issues of common interest to all members of the Cornell community. It has specific responsibility over the Campus Code of Conduct and the Rules and Regulations for the Control of Traffic and Parking on the Grounds of Cornell University. The assembly is also a presumptive stakeholder in major university policy initiatives, including those governed by the university’s policy on formulation of policies. Five faculty, five staff, five undergraduates and three graduate or professional students are appointed by the four constituent assemblies. Meetings are held Tuesday evenings.

The Student Assembly deals with quality of life issues for undergraduate students. The assembly has legislative authority over the policies of the Office of the Dean of Students and the Department of Campus Life, and establishes the undergraduate Student Activity Fee and guidelines for its distribution. Every Cornell student has the opportunity to voice concerns during the open microphone period held at the beginning of each meeting. Each spring nineteen students are elected to represent the undergraduate population, holding at-large and undergraduate college seats, and seats that represent minority, international, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning students. Each fall one transfer and three first-year representatives are elected. Meetings are held each Thursday during the academic year from 4:45–6:30 p.m. in the Memorial Room of Willard Straight Hall. Meetings are held Thursday evenings.

The Graduate and Professional Student Assembly represents the interest and concerns of this constituency, and establishes the graduate Student Activity Fee and guidelines for its distribution. The governing body includes “non-voting” field representatives, composed of delegates from each graduate field and the three professional schools, and nineteen voting members, elected from the larger body of field representatives. Meetings are held Monday evenings.

The Employee Assembly makes recommendations to the appropriate university administrators concerning the University’s personnel policies and other university policies affecting the employment environment at Cornell. The assembly also provides a mechanism for the informal exchange of information and views between employees and university administrators. The thirteen-member assembly represents the endowed and statutory units, and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva. Meetings are held during the lunch hour on Wednesdays.

The Faculty Senate is the governing body of the University Faculty. Constituency members are elected by the various schools of Hotel Administration, Industrial and Labor Relations, Management, and Law, and the academic departments within the other colleges in Ithaca and Geneva, and nine members are elected at-large by the University Faculty. The president, dean of the faculty, associate dean and secretary of the faculty, and the two faculty trustees are voting members. The Office of Assemblies does not provide administrative support to the Faculty Senate. Such support is provide by the Dean of Faculty. Meetings are held on Wednesday evenings.

Assembly leaders from the four Assemblies meet with the senior members of the administration in a monthly Leadership Breakfast Meeting, generally held on the second Tuesday of each month during the academic year.